Rapacity in Blue
Rapacity in Blue is the fourth episode of Season 6 and the overall sixty-seventh episode of The Venture Bros. Plot The episode begins with Thaddeus being awaken from Jonas Venture Jr. alarm telling him of an important science conference. He then goes down to the basement lab where he speaks with Pete and Billy telling him to come with an invention that would impress everyone. As this happens, Dr. Mrs. The Monarch is at her home telling her husband that if he quit talking about arching maybe his reputation in the guild will go up but it turns out he is nowhere to be seen. The Monarch and Henchman 21 are in Morpho's lair where the Monarch is thinking of redecorating the cave while denying 21's idea to dress up as The Blue Morpho and Kano to beat villains trying to arch Venture stating he is a villain unlike his father. The Monarch is then alerted by Manolo that his wife is coming downstairs causing him and 21 to run up to the house where they pretend to dance as an excuse for boosting up the relationship between a henchman and leader. Dr. Mrs. The Monarch believes them before stating she is going to Meteor Majeure for the council meeting but her husband states its their date night causing his wife to state she told him a week ago about the meeting. She then asks if he wants her to cancel but the monarch and 21 quickly tell her to go ahead and they watch as she leaves with Phantom Limb who the monarch still holds hatred for. The Monarch and 21 soon go back to their secret lair. Now back to VenTech Tower, Hank is speaking to Dean and reveals he was able to ask out Sirena Ong. He is talking to Dean for advice for not screwing up the date when Dean has nothing to tell him and suggest he talk to their father, hank says he did but he was no help. Back to the basement lab, Pete White and Billy Quiz-boy are going over inventions that have a series of defects that would make them impossible to show the other scientists. Dr. Venture then realizes they are going about this all wrong and should use another invention he had in mind. Realizing what he's talking about, Billy tries to dissuade Doc but the latter is to excited to listen. Their argument causes Pete to ask what they are talking about and they reveal it's mind control gas, something that excites Pete. Dr. Venture then orders Billy to create the gas. At the Monarch House, the latter is preparing to paint his secret lair, when he spots 21 (dressed in Jedi attire) standing in front of the entrance. When the monarch questions him 21 tells him to leave his items behind as there is something he needs to see down in the cave the monarch reluctantly goes down to the cave where he watches a video of his father speaking with Jonas Venture Sr. about his new project. The Blue Morpho has apparently made a project that made Jonas remark on how amazing it is before he and Blue Morpho share a laugh on how the public see the latter as an unhinged vigilante which causes Jonas to jokingly state the Blue Morpho's reputation is that of a bad guy which makes the latter declare himself as a bad guy. The Monarch stops the video shocked that his father chose to become a villain before he watches (in disgust) his father and Jonas Sr. engaged in sexual activities with two women who are not the Monarch's mother. Back at Ventech tower, Pete White and Billy Quiz-boy have exposed the mice to the gas before noting nothing has changed about them. Dean notes (who has a college class at later time) some minor changes before stating he is hiding from Hank who is asking for advice about women. At that moment, Hank is speaking with Brock who gives Hank some advice on what to do on his date before he latter is alerted by Sergeant Hatred who is being held hostage by the villain Haranguetan who demands Dr. Venture show himself but Brock appears to challenge him. Haranguetan releases Hatred and allows him to strike him which the latter does and knocks out the villain's tooth which delights the villain who takes the opportunity to bash hatred's face with his head numerous times. He tosses his gun aside revealing it wasn't loaded with Brock the same on his end, the two have stand off with both daring the other to strike first continuously. Their bickering catches the attention of Warriana flying in her invisible chariot and she decides to end their quarrel by landing and knocking Haranguetan out by hitting him in the back of his head. This act leads to argument between her and Brock while Haranguetan regains consciousness and secretly slips away. Now at the Monarch's residence the latter is shown wondering what he should do since he has discovered his father might not have been a good guy. He gets a call from his wife who tells him to prepare some files for the guild before she hangs up. The monarch then decides to take up 21's idea and after updating their costumes move out. Back at Ventech tower, the mice are slowly evolving from the effects from the mind control gas but this goes unnoticed by Dean and the scientists. Later on, Hank goes to Brock for more advice but the latter is still troubled from having his ego broken by his argument with Warriana to be of any real help. The Monarch and 21 are stuck in traffic as 21 tells the Monarch for their to arch Venture and get rid of the competition to work the latter needs to trim his beard to avoid having his identity discovered causing The Monarch to reluctantly do so. It goes back to Ventech Tower, where the mice have evolved even further but this still goes unnoticed by the scientists who are trying to figure out way to properly introduce the experiment until the mice cage goes up in flames, making Billy believe it was a failure. However, Dr. Venture still wants to go through with saying the science conference is a few days away and they to test it on humans but Billy says no person would willing subject themselves to such an experiment. Dr. Venture then gets a call from Brock telling him Haranguetan is back and Venture decides to test the gas on him, as the latter is an evil villain causing them trouble. At that moment, Henchman 21 and The Monarch are making their way to the area just as Brock detains Haranguetan for Dr. Venture to subdue with gas however, the gas canister breaks and exposes Brock, Billy and Haranguetan who hallucinates that of Venture and Billy being demons. He quickly grabs Billy preparing to throw him down the hole Wide Wale made during his invasion while Billy, who is hallucinating as well, begs for help. Doc turns to Brock who suddenly runs out the building with Venture chasing after unaware of the presence 21 and The Monarch, who have just arrived at Ventech. The two confront Haranguetan and 21 manages to save Billy from his clutches by throwing him to The Monarch and accidentally killing Haranguetan by punching him down the large hole in the lobby. Billy thanks them, but thinks he recognizes Blue Morpho, who along with Henchman 21 flee the area with Billy saying their secret is safe with him. Now Dr. Venture has been thrown out of Tophet Tower for trespassing and is helped up by The Blue Morpho who appears to recognized. Back to Brock the latter is making his way through Tophet Tower easily tossing aside the staff until he makes it to a certain apartment which he uses a bellboy to knock on the door with. The door opens and the apartment turns out to belong to Warriana. She is surprised to see Brock and the latter (who is hallucinating of her) flatters Warriana with words that cause her to pick him up and bring him inside the apartment, presumably for intercourse. At Ventech Tower, Doc has returned wondering what just occurred until he decides to forget about it and go with the invention JJ was originally planning to show. Billy stares then smiles at Doc who asks what's his problem and Billy states it was nothing and Doc's secret is safe with him revealing he thinks Doc is the Blue Morpho which is confirmed when he calls him so. Henchman 21 and The Monarch have returned home with the latter being pleased that their plan was so exciting. They remove their masks and enter the house where an angry Dr. Mrs. The Monarch is waiting for them stating she felt guilty about missing date and returned home. The Monarch tries to explain but she reveals that she knows what they were up to making them nervous until she says that Monarch went on date their night to spend time with 21 just to spite her. Monarch goes along with his wife's story apologizing for doing as his wife angrily stares at him before she goes up to bed while 21 and Monarch happily high five each other. Episode Cast * [[wikipedia:James_Urbaniak|'James Urbaniak']]: Dr. Venture, Jonas Venture Jr. * [[wikipedia:Patrick_Warburton|'Patrick Warburton']]: Brock Samson * [[wikipedia:Michael_Sinterniklaas|'Mike Sinterniklaas']]: Dean Venture * [[Chris McCulloch|'Chris McCulloch']]: Hank Venture, The Monarch, Pete White, Sgt. Hatred, Henchman 24, Announcer * [[Doc Hammer|'Doc Hammer']]: Dr. Mrs. The Monarch, Henchman 21, Billy Quizboy, Red Mantle * [[wikipedia:Kate_McKinnon|'Kate McKinnon']]: Warriana * [[wikipedia:Hal_Lublin|'Hal Lublin']]: Manolo, Wide Wale * [[wikipedia:Paul_Boocock|'Paul Boocock']]: Jonas Venture Sr. * [[wikipedia:Paul_F._Tompkins|'Paul F. Tompkins']]: The Blue Morpho * [[wikipedia:Steven_Rattazzi|'Steven Rattazzi']]: Haranguetan Connections to Other Episodes [[Tears of a Sea Cow|''Tears of a Sea Cow]] * The Science Now conference was previously mentioned in [[Tears of a Sea Cow|''Tears of a Sea Cow]]. * The vacuum that leaked radiation mentioned in this episode is the Boom-Broom Dr. Venture was away exhibiting in ''Tears of a Sea Cow''. [[The Devil's Grip|''The Devil's Grip]] * The Monarch mentions 21's return as well as the destruction of The Cocoon, both of which occurred in [[The Devil's Grip|''The Devil's Grip]]. [[Hostile Makeover|''Hostile Makeover]] * Manolo's van is still damaged due to Warriana falling on it. *Brock's attraction to Warriana. * Hatred's security job at VenTech Tower. [[Maybe No Go|Maybe No Go]] * The giant hole in the VenTech Tower lobby caused by Wide Wale and his men in [[Maybe No Go|''Maybe No Go]] is still there. [[Faking Miracles|'Faking Miracles']] * The Monarch's father The Blue Morpho being friendly with Jonas Venture Sr., which was mentioned by Henchman 21. * The Monarch's father is revealed to be a swinger, as has Jonas Venture Sr. been shown previously (and as is The Monarch himself). *Henchman 21 and The Monarch mentioning The Blue Morpho's comic. *Hank is nervous about his upcoming date with Sirena Ong, whom he asked out at her party. *The Monarch mentioning CopyCat taking his costume and framing him for violating Guild law. *Dean going to classes at Stuyvesant University after being accepted. Cultural References [[wikipedia:Auto Focus|'Auto Focus']]' (2002)' * The scene of Jonas Venture Sr. and The Blue Morpho video recording their sexual encounter with actresses Jill St. John and Stella Stevens is a reference to the 2002 Bob Crane biopic Auto Focus, a film that highlights the numerous sexual encounters of the Hogan's Heroes actor and his obsession with videotaping them. [[wikipedia:Crucifixion of Jesus|'Crucifixion of Jesus']]' (The Bible)' * After being exposed to "God Gas", three of the lab mice are seen crucified while four lab mice dressed in robes weep openly at their feet. The mouse on the middle cross wears a crown of thorns like Jesus. [[wikipedia:Golden calf|'Golden Calf']]' (The Bible)' * After being exposed to "God Gas", a group of lab mice build a statue of Billy Quizboy as a golden calf and surround it in worship, in defiance of a nearby lab mouse dressed as Moses from The Bible. [[wikipedia:Henry VIII of England|'Henry VIII of England']] * After Billy Quizboy exposes the lab mice to "God Gas", one of the mice becomes fat and dresses in red royal robes and a crown like King Henry VIII of England. He sits on a throne surrounded by decapitated mice heads impaled on spikes as a group of torch-wielding mice angrily approach him. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heracles Heracles] * Warriana tells Brock that he still would've been arguing with Haranguetan "til the cattle of Geryon came home." This is a reference to Heracles' Tenth Labour (of Twelve) in which he was tasked with obtaining the cattle belonging to the giant Geryon. After Heracles killed Geryon and acquired the herd, Hera annoyed him by sending a gadfly to irritate and scatter the cattle (Heracles then spent almost a year retrieving them). [[wikipedia:Helios#Horses of Helios|'Horses of Helios']] * The two invisible geese who pull Warriana's invisible flying chariot are named after two of the horses that pull the solar chariot of the Greek sun god Helios: Pyrois ("the fiery one") and Aethon ("blazing"). [[wikipedia:Hostess_(snack_cakes)#Products|'Hostess Fruit Pies']] * The Monarch’s comment about his dad handing out fruit pies to kids is a reference to single shot advert comics for Hostess Fruit Pies appearing in various superhero comics from DC and Marvel featuring the characters dealing with various arch enemies dealing with (or thwarted via) the fruit pies. [[wikipedia:Jill_St._John|'Jill St. John']] * Gary states that he is "like, 80% sure" that the women in the video having sex with Jonas Sr. and The Blue Morpho are actresses Jill St. John and Stella Stevens. [[wikipedia:Moses|'Moses']]' (The Bible)' * After Billy Quizboy exposes the lab mice to "God Gas", one of the mice dresses in a robe and long grey beard and carries a shepherd's crook in one hand while toting the Ten Commandments tablets in the other in a clear reference to Moses from The Bible. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prometheus Prometheus] * One of the possible inventions that Billy proposes to Dr. Venture is the Prometheus Drug which grows new livers. Unfortunately it keeps on growing more livers until the subject explodes. In Greek mythology Prometheus is a Titan who stole fire from Mount Olympus and gave it to mankind. His eternal punishment by Zeus was to be chained to a rock where his liver was eaten daily by an eagle, only to be regenerated every night due to his immortality. [[wikipedia:Rhapsody_in_Blue|''Rhapsody in Blue]]' (1924)' * The title ''Rapacity in Blue is a reference to ''Rhapsody in Blue'', a musical composition by George Gershwin that is commonly associated with New York City. [[wikipedia:Rubidium chloride|'Rubidium chloride']] * The breakfast burritos "taste a little bit like Rubidium chloride." Rubidium chloride has numerous uses, including being an antidepressant. [[wikipedia:Skeletor|'Skeletor']]' ([[wikipedia:Masters of the Universe|''Masters of the Universe]])' * After being exposed to "God Gas", one of the lab mice dresses like a king and sits on a throne made of bones that looks similar to Skeletor's throne in the 1983 cartoon series [[wikipedia:He-Man and the Masters of the Universe|''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe]]. [[wikipedia:The_Empire_Strikes_Back|'Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back']]' (1980)' * Henchman 21's caution to The Monarch before The Monarch enters the Morpho Cave (and 21's subsequent hearing of Henchman 24's voice) is taken almost verbatim from Yoda's advice to Luke Skywalker (and his subsequent exchange with the spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobi) in the film Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. [[wikipedia:Stella_Stevens|'Stella Stevens']] * Gary states that he is "like, 80% sure" that the women in the video having sex with Jonas Sr. and The Blue Morpho are actresses Jill St. John and Stella Stevens. [[wikipedia:Video tape recorder|'Video tape recorder']]' (VTR)' * Jonas Venture Sr. refers to the footage on the video tape recorder as a "VTR tape". VTR was the magnetic tape technology that proceeded the more popular VCR (video cassette recorder) format for recording audio and video. Production Notes *The Animation Direction Supervisor (Kimson Albert) has a "nickname" inserted into his credits. The nickname is an unusual line or word from the preceding episode. For Rapacity in Blue the credit reads Kimson "God Gas" Albert. Trivia *"Rapacity" refers to extreme greed, with an inclination toward plundering or taking by force. *Even though Gary has accepted his death, Henchman 24's voice still speaks to him. *Warriana's apartment (12-B) is in the same building as Wide Wale. Category:Episodes Category:The Venture Bros. episodes Category:Season 6 Category:2016 television episodes